President’s Committee Addresses Unemployment 

By Houkje Ross


Closing the Gap, Disabilities • October/November 1999


Minorities and others from diverse 

cultural backgrounds with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed than whites with disabilities, according to a July 1999 report from the National Council on Disability. The report, Lift 

Every Voice: Modernizing Disability Policies 

and Programs to Serve a Diverse Nation, said 

fear and ignorance on the part of some employers play a part in increasing the likelihood of unemployment for minorities. Some 

employers consider disabled persons bad for 

business. And in some cultures, persons with 

disabilities are considered bearers of bad luck, 

the report said. 

While the labor force participation rate 

for people age 18 to 64 without disabilities is 

nearly 83 percent, it is about 52 percent for 

those with disabilities, and only 38.6 percent for non-Whites with disabilities, according to the report. For people with severe disabilities, the labor force participation rate is 

roughly 30 percent for Whites, 21.2 percent 

for Hispanics, and 17.8 percent for African 

Americans. 

The Cultural Diversity Initiative 

To improve the job opportunities for 

individuals with disabilities, the President’s 

Committee on Employment of People with 

Disabilities established the Cultural Diversity Initiative in 1986. The Initiative has 

formed coalitions with other organizations to 

help minorities with disabilities become employed. The Initiative provides training on 

disability employment issues and the Americans with Disability Act. 

Members of the Cultural Diversity Initiative regularly attend conferences, seminars, 

and discussion panels of other organizations 

in order to talk about the issues of unemployment among minorities with disabilities, 

said Claudie Grant Jr., program manager for 

the Initiative. 

The Cultural Diversity Initiative has 

formed alliances with three organizations on 

a high school program working 

to give minority students with 

disabilities a chance at careers in technology 

and related fields, Grant added. The groups 

working with the President’s Initiative are the 

NAACP, the National Urban League, and 

ASPIRA, a nonprofit organization devoted 

to the education and leadership development 

of Latino youth. The NAACP will base its 

project in Baltimore, the National Urban 

League in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, 

and ASPIRA in Newark, New Jersey. 

These organizations will choose between 

20 and 25 students from area school systems 

to participate in the Initiative. Each organization will identify businesses willing to give 

disabled minority students internships. Chosen students will participate in a high-tech 

program aimed at preparing them for careers 

in technology, engineering, science, and computer skills. 

These students will participate in 

“shadow experiences,” according to Grant. 

“They will get to watch others work and in 

some cases be mentored. The whole idea is to 

get the students to acquire computer skills 

and technology skills,” Grant added. “The 

Initiative is working to get these students careers, not just jobs. This is important, because many students with disabilities never 

get the chance to work,” he said. 

The organizations have been asked to 

operate their programs and launch secondary programs with affiliates, Grant said. 

For more information on the Cultural 

Diversity Initiative, contact the President’s 

Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, 202-376-6200, or 202-376-6205 

(TDD), or go to its Web site at http:// 

www.pcepd.gov. 

Job Accommodation Network 

The President’s Committee also operates the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). 

JAN is an information and consulting service 

for inquiries about enabling people with disabilities to work. 

For more information, contact JAN at 

(800) 526-7234 (Voice/TDD), or visit its Web 

site: http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu.

Why Do Minorities Have Such High 

Unemployment Rates? 

Some factors that contribute to the high unemployment rates of minorities with disabilities, according to the 

President’s Committee, include: 

• People with disabilities from culturally diverse backgrounds experience 

twice the discrimination experienced 

by non-disabled people in the minority community. Both disability 

and race complicate the situation. 

• There is disparity in rehabilitation 

services provided to minorities with 

disabilities. 

• Educational opportunities are less 

affordable to individuals with disabilities from culturally diverse backgrounds. 

• Inadequate transportation and housing in disadvantaged communities 

intensify the employment barriers for 

minority people with disabilities. 

• There is a lack of mentors and role 

models for minority individuals with 

disabilities in the workplace. 

• Mainstream job coaching, on-the-job 

training and internships are often not 

readily available to minority individuals with disabilities. 

• Both mainstream and minority communities and religious organizations 

tend to overlook their capability to 

support the employment of minority individuals with disabilities. 

• Cultural differences are not clearly 

understood by individuals or organizations designing programs to support the employment of minorities 

with disabilities.

Office of Minority Health Resource Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services